Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, enjoyed by millions in many different countries. No matter how much experience you have with the game, there is always something else you can learn. If you want to improve your skills on the court, keep reading for some great advice.
Make your passes quick and precise. This takes practice, but you can improve your passing skills over time. Find someone else who wants to improve their passing and run drills with them. Running up and down the court passing and dribbling will eventually become second nature and help you with your game.
Don’t prepare more for a game than you do for a practice. If you don’t tape up for practice, don’t do it for games. You will naturally take games more seriously than practice. However, you don’t need to start panicking over a game by overpreparing. Have a consistent and calm routine.
In order to shoot the basketball properly, you need to have good balance. For starters, to have a good base, you need to keep your feet roughly one shoulder length apart. Next, have your stronger foot half a step in front of the other foot. Finally, make sure your head is centered.
Keeping calm and reacting maturely to getting beat is as important to your game as anything else. If your opponent has played harder and has out-hustled you, don’t get upset or stressed out, as your game will only suffer. Instead, think about how to match the intensity of your opponent. Beat them at their own game.
To master dribbling, try the 10-5 drill. Start with your right hand and power dribble for 10 seconds. Slow it down for five seconds, then switch hands and repeat. This helps your arms learn about the changes in dribbling pace associated with a competitive game, building muscles and giving you strength.
When you’re playing basketball, make sure that you dribble with your head up. If you feel that you have to look down every time you dribble, then you need more practice. Try to practice dribbling all over the place when you can without looking to get better at it. Watching good point guards can help since they always look forward and around when they dribble.
If your defender has their left foot forward, your right sided dribble won’t work. To get around them, crossover the ball to your left and step your right foot outside theirs. Dribble on the left a few times as you slide by and you will be on your way to scoring.
When you have a chance, take a charge. This helps get the ball for the team and allows another foul on the opponent. This may completely break the competition down.
It can help your basketball skills when you strength train. Strength, flexibility and stamina are all important things to have in basketball. Proper exercise allows younger players and older players an improved physical presence on the court. When they become teenagers, they will be able to step up to weight work to become even stronger. The adult years are where strength training is crucial to maintain solid performance on the court.
Lateral quickness is a very important part of becoming a good basketball player. You have to be able to move to your left and right quickly on both offense and defense. You can practice and improve your lateral quickness by moving left to right and back as quickly as possible with training exercises.
Don’t discontinue dribbling until you have the chance to shoot or pass. When you stop dribbling the ball, you only have a limited amount of plays you can perform. If you opt to not pass or shoot, you’re left with pivoting on your back foot. This causes you to be wide open to some double teaming by the other team and increase your chances of having the ball stolen.
When playing defense, keep your eye on the shot ball. Once the ball leaves someones hands, you need to box out your opponent and then gauge where you think that ball is bouncing to when it hits the rim. That’s the key to being an excellent rebounder. When you see enough basketball shots, you’ll have a very good idea of how the ball bounces. But you need to keep your eyes on it to know!
If you’re serious about your game, you should take your diet seriously. If you want to have plenty of energy to play, you should take in plenty of complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and lean sources of protein. Good foods that provide these essentials include nuts, lean meats and whole wheat breads. Stay away from salt and sugar.
When you are taking a free throw, be sure that your strong foot is out in front slightly. When your knees begin to straighten, let the ball go. Your heels should peel up off the floor as the ball leaves your hands. Use your stronger hand to follow through with the shot.
The best rebounders can guess where a ball will go. As you practice, throw a ball at the net and see how it reacts. After a while you will begin to see patterns which will help you expect where you should be when the ball goes over the net and comes back at you.
Follow through on the shots you take. Don’t just lob the ball up there and quickly drop your hands. Let your hands go full the motion completely. Even the last touch of the ball can give it just the right spin to get a lucky bounce. Be sure you repeat this motion every time.
Now that you have read this article, you have learned some great techniques for becoming a better basketball player. Maybe you just play for fun, or maybe you play more seriously. Maybe you are even a professional! No matter who you are, you can profit from the tips you have just read.
